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The Benefits Of Probiotics | Improve Your Gut Health | Nutritionist Explains | Myprotein
Jan 30, 2025
Think you know your gut health? Expert dietitian explains how we can alter our gut health with the use of probiotics and dietary changes.
Gut health has gained a lot of interest over the last few years, and rightly so considering there has been a lot of evidence that has shown that the health of our gut can massively impact our overall health and wellbeing.
In this video, Elle Kelly, a specialist dietitian takes us through the science and looks at how the health of our gut is linked to the health of many other parts of our body. Taking us through the potential benefits of probiotics too, which have also received a lot of attention in recent years.
So, let’s dive in.
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0:00
gut health has gained a lot of interest
0:01
over the last few years and rightly so
0:03
considering there has been a lot of
0:05
evidence that has shown that the health
0:07
of our gut can massively impact our
0:09
overall health and well-being my name is
0:10
Elle specialist dietitian and today
0:12
we're going to look at how the health of
0:14
our gut is linked to the health of
0:15
almost every other part of our body
0:17
we'll look at the potential benefits of
0:18
probiotics too which have also received
0:21
a lot of attention in recent years so
0:23
let's Dive In
0:24
[Music]
0:27
your gut is more than just your stomach
0:29
the term gut actually refers to our
0:32
digestive system which is the tube
0:34
inside of us that starts at our mouth
0:35
and ends well at your bum our digestive
0:39
system is obviously responsible for
0:41
digestion but with it being nicknamed
0:43
the second brain there is a lot more
0:45
that it does than just digest food ever
0:48
felt butterflies in your stomach or had
0:50
a gut feeling about something or noticed
0:52
that feeling nervous can make you feel
0:54
nauseous the gut and the brain are
0:56
physically connected by millions of
0:58
nerves and are constantly communicating
1:00
meaning that how you feel mentally may
1:03
affect how you feel physically and vice
1:05
versa we refer to this as the gut brain
1:08
axis this gut brain access is taught to
1:10
play a role in gut symptoms and even
1:12
digestive disorders like IBS it is well
1:15
known that Stress and Anxiety can
1:16
exacerbate IBS and some other digestive
1:19
symptoms the evidence in this area is
1:21
quite strong and mindfulness and Stress
1:23
Management is often encouraged for those
1:24
with IBS alongside dietary changes that
1:27
maybe help full the gut is commonly
1:29
referred to as our second brain due to
1:31
this close connection but it doesn't
1:33
stop there links have been well
1:35
established between our gut and our skin
1:37
our metabolic and hormonal health and
1:39
our immunity too the gut microbiota play
1:42
an important role in these connections
1:43
what's the gut microbiota I hear you ask
1:46
the gut microbiota or GM refers to the
1:49
collection of microorganisms that we
1:51
have in our guts the types of bacteria
1:53
that we have in our gut are influenced
1:55
by genetics and our environments but
1:58
also by the foods that we eat and
1:59
Lifestyles we live every different
2:01
species of probiotics in our guts
2:03
provide us with different benefits and
2:05
the more diverse our gut microbiome is
2:07
so that collection of probiotics we have
2:09
the more benefits we get and this is
2:11
where probiotics come in literally
2:14
translated as for Life probiotics are
2:16
defined as live organisms which when
2:18
administered in adequate amines provide
2:20
the host AKA human taking them with
2:23
benefits so what are these benefits
2:25
immunity aside from the millions of
2:28
nerves within the lining of the gut
2:30
there are also specialist immune cells
2:32
and as the name suggests these play a
2:34
role in our immunity and it is thought
2:36
that up to 80 percent of our immunity
2:38
lies within our gut due to these immune
2:40
cells but also due to the role of the GM
2:42
probiotics can enhance this function too
2:44
as probiotics pass through the body they
2:47
attach to the lining of the intestine
2:49
and this attachment is thought to
2:51
prevent pathogenic bacteria or bad
2:53
bacteria that cause an illness from
2:55
attaching itself and therefore infecting
2:57
us specifically lactobacillus and
3:00
bifidobacterium probiotic species
3:02
produce different types of acid which
3:04
can lower the pH balance within the
3:06
intestine which inhibits the growth of
3:08
pathogenic bacteria there is a lot of
3:10
research that indicates that altering
3:12
the GM by the use of probiotics or
3:14
dietary changes can increase our immune
3:16
resistance especially in terms of the
3:18
common cold or flu a large-scale review
3:21
of the literature available in 2015
3:23
found that probiotics could reduce the
3:25
likelihood of getting an upper
3:26
respiratory tract infection by 47 as
3:30
well as reducing the duration of the
3:31
illness if it was contracted when
3:33
compared to those not taking a probiotic
3:35
supplement immunity is one of the main
3:37
functions of the GM but evidence has
3:39
also suggested that the composition of
3:41
the GM may be associated with an
3:43
individual's weight too it has been
3:45
established that there are two bacteria
3:46
dominant in the gut bacteria deeps and
3:49
thermicutes diets rich in processed
3:52
foods that are high in fat and sugar are
3:54
associated with an increase in the
3:55
relative abundance of firmicutes and the
3:58
ratio of these bacteria have been
4:00
correlated to an individual's weight
4:02
with lower concentrations of bacteria
4:04
dates and a higher proportion of
4:06
thermicutes observed in individuals who
4:09
are of a higher body weight it has been
4:11
suggested that this imbalance of
4:13
bacteria in the gas can alter the amount
4:15
of calories and nutrients extracted from
4:17
Foods consumed which could impact body
4:19
weight so with evidence suggesting that
4:21
the composition of the GM may be
4:23
associated with an individual's weight
4:24
Studies have investigated the
4:26
implications of altering the GM through
4:29
the use of probiotics on an individual's
4:31
weight one specific study Illustrated
4:33
that a strain of probiotic known as
4:35
bifidobacterium brevae B3 enhanced
4:38
weight loss in both mice and humans
4:40
individuals who took two capsules of
4:42
this supplement per day had a
4:44
significant decrease in body fat Mass
4:45
which was the opposite to what was
4:47
observed in the placebo group
4:49
interestingly nutrition and energy
4:51
intake did not differ between these
4:53
groups and dietary changes were not
4:55
suggested to be part of the trial which
4:57
suggests that bifidobacteria and brevae
5:00
B3 may have the ability to induce
5:02
reductions in body fat without calorie
5:05
restriction however it was disclosed
5:07
that the physical activity of
5:08
participants was not monitored which may
5:10
have influenced these results there is
5:12
also evidence that suggests that
5:14
probiotics may have a preventative
5:15
effect on weight gain too the most
5:17
widely investigated probiotics and ones
5:19
for which health benefits have been
5:21
established are within the lactobacillus
5:23
and bifidobacterium species which are
5:25
commonly added to yogurt and fermented
5:27
milk during
5:28
Studies have Associated yogurt-rich
5:30
diets with lower quantities of weight
5:31
gain over long-term periods as well as
5:34
with a reduced risk of metabolic related
5:36
diseases there's also a lot of research
5:38
into how probiotics may be able to
5:40
support mental well-being with some
5:42
studies finding that probiotics may be
5:44
able to boost mood and cognitive
5:46
function as well as lower Stress and
5:48
Anxiety a study published earlier this
5:50
year investigated the impact of
5:52
probiotic supplements in a group of 70
5:54
individuals who struggled with symptoms
5:56
such as low mood tiredness lack of
5:58
pleasure and or sadness the participants
6:01
were randomly divided into two groups
6:03
with one group receiving the probiotic
6:05
containing 14 strains and the other
6:07
receiving a placebo 50 of the
6:10
individuals in the probiotic group
6:11
reported an improvement in mood and
6:13
concentration at the end of the
6:14
four-week trial only 20 of the placebo
6:17
group had an improvement in symptoms
6:18
highlighting that the probiotic had a
6:20
positive impact on mood in comparison to
6:22
the placebo the researchers also looked
6:24
at the levels of stress hormone cortisol
6:26
in each participant at the start of the
6:28
study and following the trial
6:30
interestingly there was a significant
6:31
reduction in cortisol levels in those
6:33
who receive the probiotics and no change
6:35
was observed in the placebo group
6:37
another study published in 2020 reviewed
6:40
studies published between 2003 and 2019
6:43
and looked at the potential benefits of
6:45
probiotics in adults with anxiety and or
6:47
depression all of the studies concluded
6:49
that probiotics may be able to reduce
6:51
depression every study showed a
6:53
significant Improvement in anxiety
6:55
symptoms and or depression however none
6:58
of these studies lasted very long and
7:00
they all had very small sample sizes
7:02
there was also a few different probiotic
7:04
strains investigated and so a lot more
7:06
research is needed to confirm exactly
7:08
what the best dosages and combinations
7:10
of strains may be able to support these
7:13
improvements regardless of probiotics we
7:15
know that a healthy gut can certainly
7:16
help you have a healthy head so eating
7:19
plenty of different plants and getting
7:20
enough fiber can help to keep the GM
7:22
happy finally and probably
7:24
unsurprisingly probiotics can be helpful
7:26
for digestion and other their gut
7:28
related symptoms probiotics have been
7:30
shown to help reduce bloating
7:32
constipation and diarrhea in some
7:34
individuals however the research is
7:36
actually quite mixed and it is
7:37
impossible to draw a definitive
7:39
conclusion now do you actually need a
7:41
probiotic supplement probiotics are
7:43
often added to yogurts and fermented
7:45
foods and drinks like kefir kombucha and
7:47
sauerkraut you can also take them as a
7:50
supplement you don't necessarily need to
7:52
take a probiotic supplement and because
7:54
there are a lot of questions still to be
7:56
answered regarding which probiotics or
7:58
probiotic mixtures are most effective
8:00
and what dosages and durations of
8:01
probiotic treatments are best for
8:03
different outcomes it makes it tricky to
8:05
provide a blanket answer there are some
8:07
cases where probiotics are often
8:09
recommended such as after or during a
8:11
course of antibiotics and this is
8:13
because although antibiotics do Wipe Out
8:15
the bacteria that lead to illness they
8:17
also tend to wipe out the good bacteria
8:19
too so taking a probiotic supplements
8:22
can help to support restoring your GM
8:24
probiotics may also be recommended to
8:25
try if you have IBS but again the
8:28
efficacy of This is highly individual
8:30
and they may not work for everybody for
8:32
most people probiotics appear safe to
8:34
use and so if you want to try them
8:35
they're unlikely to have any negative
8:37
side effects however it is important to
8:39
be aware that probiotics are generally
8:41
considered a food rather than a medicine
8:43
which means that they don't go through
8:45
the same rigorous testing that
8:46
medication does it is also important to
8:48
be mindful that there is sometimes not
8:50
always but sometimes a risk of bias in
8:53
studies as they may be funded by the
8:55
pharmaceutical companies or food
8:57
companies who sell the probiotic always
8:59
do your research and consult your
9:01
medical professional for bespoke advice
9:03
I hope that you now know a bit more
9:05
about our gut and what it does and the
9:07
potential benefits of probiotics if you
9:09
have any questions leave them in the
9:11
comments below and don't forget to like
9:13
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9:14
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9:16
advice
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